Oneshots?
by Oncie's Sweetheart
Summary: Oneshots from The Lorax. Trying to be realistic... Accepting prompts : Chapter Sixteen: A little family scene... with The Lorax. xSTORY FORMATx Not all chappies will be poems. :D
1. Ending

**OnexShots**

**YAY!**

**Thought I'd start with some Norma-ler...**

**Or maybe some Audrey/Lorax (NOT a pairing).**

**IDK.**

**Why are my dreams so weird?**

**I guess I ended up starting with a character death.**

**THAT can't be good...**

**~ OS**

**(This chapter is more based off the book...)**

* * *

If you left Thneedville and went where the grass now grows,

and Swamee Swans have no more woes

As they sing beautiful, lilting lullabies,

People gather on the hill to cry.

For it is a solemn day, though the breeze feels like silk

And carries the scent of fresh butterfly milk,

For a soul has departed, the very Earth that,

was once ripped apart at the nod of a hat.

The one who made it all happen,

The one everyone forgot.

The one covered in anguish and grief,

The one who meant a lot.

And the orange-furred lump

Remembers the day,

When he first came to the valley,

Destroying everything in his way.

But times had changed,

As the problem got worse.

And the business man

Just kept filling his purse.

Until, of course,

The day the last one fell,

And now, after amends,

He has as well.

So as the animals

Crowd round the band,

They see the face

Of the man who changed their land.

His once alive face

Is drained of color.

And all those who loved him.

Around the box hover.

And say their goodbyes,

Because today is the day.

The Once-ler is gone.

Inside the earth he lays.

* * *

**A/N: R.I.P. Oncie, we all love you! ^.^**

**I was feeling down today...**

**I wanted to write Norma-ler, but I sat down and I came up with this poem...**

**wow.**

**D':**

**So, anyways, suggest some prompts for me?**

**PWEASE? *puppy face***

**you guys know what to do, review and all that stuff. :)**

**~ OS**


	2. Reminisce

**A/N: This is Oncie's Sweetheart speaking. :3**

**Just wanted to ask for prompts... and stuff.**

**So, I'm going to try to do some Lorax stuff in here.**

**This will probably be after The Lorax comes back, after the sprouts were planted.**

**:D**

**~ OS**

* * *

The Lorax looked around. Those kids had done a good job. The air, while not up to the quality it was before beanpole came around, was much, much cleaner than before.

Yes, The Lorax had seen everything. He may have not been down to earth, but he DID keep an eye on the devastation.

At first it was every day. Then every two days. Then every week. Then once a month. Then just a glance a year, in hope that somebody would save it.

Instead, the people had shut themselves out- or rather, _in_. They pretended nothing had happened. Got rid of all the evidence. Built a city completely of plastic and slowly obliviated their past memories of the world outside. Or, if they remembered, they didn't say.

The Once-ler remained shut up in his Lerkim, not venturing out beyond his own front door.

And so all was quiet for sixty nine years.

Then, Ted had come. True, his first intentions were purely for the girl. The Lorax knew that. But as he heard the tragic story, and the utter failure and rejection, anyone could see it wasn't about the girl anymore. Or even about the tree.

It was about humanity.

And now, finally, the balance had returned.

The Lorax blinks back the tiny wetness starting to pool in his eyes. _He must not cry. He will not cry. He must not cry. He will not cry._ Too preoccupied with this chant, he does not notice the person behind him.

"Mr. Lorax?"

He turns around. It is the girl, the girl who started the whole thing. She is a spark, a flame, just like her hair. Though, she did not know it.

"Thank you."

Why is she thanking him? He should be thanking her, for accomplishing what he could not.

He speaks for the first time since he met the beanpole again. His voice is gravelly, rusty even, from not speaking in so long. It has lost the sharpness and its bossy tone it used to contain.

"No. Thank _you_."

She is surprised.

"For what?"

She does not know.

"For... all this." he says, sweeping a hand around to indicate the growing forest.

"But I didn't do this." She looks down at her feet, hiding a blush. "Ted did."

She does not understand.

"But you were the match. You lit the fire." She still looks confused.

He sighs. "Yes, the boy got the seed. But he did it for you. _You _made him go. _You _told him about trees. _You _were the one he'd do anything for. So he searched for a tree."

"Oh. _Oh._"

The Lorax sits down, suddenly weary. He pats the spot beside him. She hesitates, then gives in and sits down, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"It's so beautiful," she whispers, her voice light like a feather.

The Lorax smiles.

"It most certainly is."

* * *

**A/N: LORAX!**

**So, this is just a conversation between The Lorax and Audrey. Reminiscing.**

**That's how you spell it, right?**

**:D**

**~ OS**


	3. Stronger

**A/N: My first ANGST! (i think)**

**~OS**

* * *

The Once-ler looked down from his window, his tall black and green hat flying off in the wind, his eyes drinking in the sight before him.

A wasteland.

Empty stumps, brown, sludgey, ponds, and a black-and-purple sky, reminding him of a bruise.

Actually, if he thought about it, that's exactly what it was.

A bruise, a blemish upon the beautiful world. A disabling mark on the earth's surface, created by him.

Everyone, every_thing_ was gone.

His family, first off. His mother deserted him as soon as the last thneed was sold.

The bar-ba-loots.

The Swamee Swans.

Humming Fish.

Melvin.

The girl he loved. But she left long before the end. _She _knew what was going to happen. _She _tried to stop him. And when she failed, she disappeared, the ring returned in a letter, explaining.

He never read through it.

The Truffula Trees.

Even his old guitar refused to work anymore. Though he suspected that had more to do with snapping in half when he was first trying to sell his thneed.

And then The Lorax. He left when he needed him the most.

He turned away from the window, and walked over to his desk. He paused, then kept walking. He threw open the fancy double doors to his office, and marched over the cold stone floor. His footsteps echoed, reminding him that he was alone.

He picked up the pace, heels clacking, tailcoat flying out behind him. He turned multiple turns, having memorized the floor plan of the building he designed. He turned into the oldest section of the building, the first building he ever built. Rummaging through the old steel cupboards with years worth of junk piled up inside, he pulled out what he had been looking for- his old axe. It lay here, unused and discarded as his Super-Axe-Hackers came into use.

He ran his fingers along the handle and up the blade. As far as he could tell, it was still as sharp as ever.

He tested it on the steel connecting this part of the building to the rest, the newer model. It sliced through the steel slowly but steadily as he continued to work through the night. By mid day he had hacked down the wall connecting his Lerkim, as he called it, to the rest of the factory. He found a matchbox. Right as he lit fire to the extremely flammable inside of the building covered in velvet curtains and such, it started to rain. But it was too late. The entire factory went up in flames as the spark spread like wildfire.

He stood there, saddened, his tall figure drooping as he watched it burn. What he thought was rain ran down his face, and as it reached his lips he realized, with a jolt, that it was salty. The tears flowed freely, with no one around to see them. The rain pelted down, freezing him to the bone, as it extinguished what was left of his factory. Lumps of twisted metal were everywhere, and sparks flew, yet The Once-ler remained where he was.

He did not deserve to live.

He was despicable, horrible.

He was a monster.

There is no doubt that he would not have lasted three days if not for the sight that met him as he returned, slowly, numbly, to his Lerkim.

A pile of stones.

The word Unless.

And was- was that a Truffula seed?

He tenderly took the seed into his gloved hand, feeling the daggers of the rain still in his back. He cupped it between his gloves, and took it inside.

He would survive.

For the sake of this seed, for the future generations, for hope.

Because hope is the only thing stronger than fear.


	4. Wonder

**A/N: Since I'm not getting requests, I'll just keep writing my own one-shots.**

**Reminder: DO NOT request Oncest, I absolutely, positively, will NOT write it.**

**:D**

**(If you scrutinize this chapter with a microscope, you might be able to catch the small bit of Norma-ler here.)**

**I am just letting you know that I have NO IDEA what I did here...**

**~OS**

* * *

The small truffula sprouts were shooting up through the grass. They were everywhere: in gardens, in the park, even outside of town!

Ted slowly rode his scooter along the winding roads of Thneedville, making his way to Audrey's house.

Carefully, making sure not to squash the little trees, he laid down the scooter and rang the doorbell. Three times. It had become their signal now, to let Audrey know that it was Ted at the door.

Today however, it wasn't beautiful Audrey that opened the door, it was her father.

"Looking for Audrey?" he asked with a smile. "She's down at the old man's place."

Ted took this to mean The Once-ler. He wondered why she was there without him. He picked up his scooter again, and started the journey outside of town.

As he passed through the entrance, which was now a giant archway giving free admittance to anyone entering or leaving the town, he smelled the air. It wasn't dirty and smoggy anymore, it was sweet, with a little sharp scent to it, a little like cinnamon.

The giant machine which had nearly chopped his head off the first time he was here had been removed, probably by The Once-ler with Grammy Norma's help. He didn't understand why she was there so much. Every time he went to see him, his grandma would ask to come too. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that she knew him from before.

He rode faster, passing under the newly blue skies with no expression. He had gotten used to it.

Suddenly, he saw a flash of red. Audrey, sweet, nice, Audrey didn't have a scooter and had probably walked the whole way here. That explained why she was right in front of him and he was about to crash-

He screeched to a halt, startling her, as she jumped a little.

"Want a ride?" he asked.

"Sure, why not," she said with a smile.

As he pulled up in front of the Lerkim five minutes later, she grabbed him off the scooter and nearly dragged him to the backyard.

"Why-"

Giving no answer, she merely smiled again and put a finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet as they walked into the backyard.

He gasped as he saw the sight, the beautiful painting on the back wall. This explained where she had been the past few months, every day she hadn't been home after six. He _had_ noticed, but he had never asked, scared of the answer of what she'd done for those two hours.

Now he saw. He saw the trees brought to life agin on yet another wall, but this time blending in with the scenery around it. Ever since Audrey was able to actually _see_ the trees, and not just hear about them from her late grandmother, her paintings had improved past what Ted thought was humanely possible. For a short while he had, in fact, considered the possibility that Audrey was an angel. But it had passed from his mind after the thought of her being dead sickened him.

But now he wondered.


	5. Grow

**A/N: Yay! I got a couple of requests!**

**This is Ted and Audrey's relationship viewed by Mrs. Wiggins. **

**Requested by Spazzle.**

**:D**

**~OS**

* * *

I grew up never knowing my father. All I wanted was for Ted to have a normal life. But even _that _I guess I couldn't have.

The last I ever remember of my early days was a voice. Saying my name. Helen. It didn't sound like my mother's voice, so I guess that's all I have of my dad.

Ted, on the other hand, he knows his father. He lives on the other side of town. Every year during school vacation, he's gone for a week to his father. And as far as I know, he enjoys it.

So far, between mom and I, relationships in this family have been pretty... Crappy.

And I don't want Ted to get hurt. He's only twelve, for goodness' sake!

But, as for Audrey, she seems very sweet. She's soft-spoken, beautiful, and she has a kind heart. The only thing I'm worried about with her is the fact that she's three years older than Ted.

A lot of you might be grumbling and saying "if it's true love, then age shouldn't matter" and things like that, but the thing is, I don't care that she's three years older than Ted in _that_ respect. I just feel that she'll find someone in high school or college who's closer to her. And then I don't want Ted to be disappointed.

But I'm not going to stop him this time. If things work out, then we're all happy. And if they don't, well, as much as it hurts me to say this, maybe it's time for him to start growing up.


	6. Find

**A/N: Next request! Yay!**

**This one's sorta based off a fan art picture I found.**

**:3**

**I had _so _much fun writing Liz. :D**

**Requested by Scooter12345.**

**~OS**

* * *

The Once-ler woke up to a massive headache.

He opened his eyes a crack and then immediately shut them again, trying to get the burning light out of his head.

Groaning, he shifted around the now too-heavy bedclothes and tried to reach for the switch above his bed. Pulling it, he realized, made it all worse. Even as he pulled the chain again, the intense light had engrained itself into his head, and now he saw it even with his eyes closed.

He slowly turned around until he was facing downward, and then hid himself under the pillow.

He called out to whoever may be in the tiny room.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!"

Then a none-too-familiar voice appeared, seemingly magnified to 1,000 times it's normal volume.

"Turn what off? The sun?" asked the Lorax as he chuckled.

"No! That horrible light!"

"What light?"

"Can't you see it? That bright light right there!" said The Once-ler, pointing towards the ceiling.

"There's nothing there beanpole!"

The Once-ler sighed in frustration.

"Just sleep. You're probably dreaming." said the Lorax, leaving the cottage-tent.

The Once-ler tried to think. Considering all the pain he was going through, it took him a while to conclude that he wasn't doing anything important that day, and to finally drift off to sleep.

* * *

Norma paced around the diner. Around and around and around she went, until-

"Norma, stop! You're making _me _dizzy!" called Liz from behind the counter.

It was an hour after opening, and Norma's best friend Elizabeth had had enough of Norma's constant moaning.

"But he's _never _late! _Ever_! In fact, I usually show up late, and then we laugh about it and-"

"NORMA ANGELICA WIGGINS!"

The whole restaurant turned to look at Liz. She blushed and went back to her work.

After a couple of minutes, she looked up at Norma.

"What's so special about today? Maybe he had to do something..." she whispered.

"Well, he called last night and he said he had something important to tell me..." said Norma.

"Look, if it's _that _important to you, why don't you go find out for yourself what's wrong? You know where he lives, right?" hissed Liz.

"_That _didn't sound creepy," said Norma sarcastically, but then she straightened up and said "Yes, yes I do. You're right Lizzy."

"I'm _always _right," said Liz with a smile. "Now go find your boyfriend."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" called Norma, as she ran for the exit, blushing.

"Yeah right! Invite me to your wedding!" yelled Liz to Norma as she waited for the next customer.

Liz wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a faint "Shut up!" from in the distance.

* * *

Norma ran out of town, her dark curls bouncing around. As she ran faster and faster, her hair flew out behind her, and she couldn't help feeling excited while passing through the beautiful forest.

She wondered why people rarely came out here. Sure, the occasional family would picnic, but that would only be at the edge of the woods. She hoped the woods would be around for her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and great-great-grand- well, you get the point. She wanted them all to enjoy this beautiful place.

She started slowing down, not being used to running _this _much. She switched to skipping. Eventually, just as she thought she was lost, she came upon The Once-ler's tent.

Strange. There didn't seem to be any lights on.

She shrugged. Maybe the sunlight was enough for him.

Walking up to the front door, she knocked on the door.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Still, nobody opened the door or called out.

Tentatively, she turned the handle and pushed the door open. She looked seemed like no one was inside. The room was extremely dark, except for a ray of sunshine over the bed. The bed!

She walked over to it.

The Once-ler was still sleeping, face-down into the mattress.

He over-slept? That wasn't like him. Not at all.

Apprehensively, she shook his shoulder.

No response.

"Once! Wake up!"

No response.

Slowly, she turned him over. He was still breathing. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, he did not respond.

She was at a loss for what to do, when she realized there was someone else here that lived in the forest. The Lorax would probably know what happened.

She had met the Lorax one of the first times she had come in the forest. She remembered _that _day clearly. But this was no time to reminisce. She scolded herself, and briskly walked around to the back. The Lorax and a couple of bar-ba-loots were playing catch with- was that a _marshmallow_?

"Hey! Lorax!" she called.

He turned around. His mouth broke into a wide grin.

"Norma! Nice of you to join us!" he said. Then he frowned. "Though beanpole didn't warn us that you were coming..."

Norma was shocked. "He _warns _you? What, am I a tornado?"

The Lorax chuckled. "Wrong terms there, sorry. What I meant, is that usually, when you show up, it's all he'll talk about for a couple days. It's "Norma this" and "Norma that"... We get sick of it by the first hour. Anyways, what brings you to this part of the forest."

"Well, it's about The Once-ler..."

" Beanpole? He's inside."

"I know. That's what I want to ask you about."

The Lorax tilted his head to the side.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. Is this one of those "Does he like me?" questions? Because, then I can tell you, most definitely, yes. You and that Thneed thing of his are all he ever talks about! Why-"

"NO!" said Norma, her face burning. "All I wanted to know is, why is he still sleeping?"

"Oh, that? That's easy. Because I told him to."

"Since when has he listened to what _you _say?" asked Norma.

The Lorax frowned.

"Now that you mention it... never. Wonder why he listened today."

"The only reason he would have listened to you was if he was already planning to do it himself." said Norma, nearly ready to cry now. "The thing is, I just don't understand why he would do that. I waited for two hours!"

"Norma. Norma. NORMA. Listen to me. I have _no idea _what you are talking about, so you're going to have to explain it all to me."

Norma sighed and sat down.

"Okay, so ever since I..."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this turned out COMPLETELY different than I thought it would/wanted it to be.**

**But that's the thing with stories. They run away from you.**

**I'm going to make this a two-shot, and part of the reason is because if I write one long oneshot like this, you guys will be disappointed when my next one turns out to be short. :D**

**And we don't want_ that_ to happen, do we?**

**I will admit that I had a LOT of fun writing Liz and the Lorax so far in this chappie. :)**

**See ya guys later. **

**:3**

**~OS**


	7. Care

**A/N: Part II! Yay!**

**This one's sorta based off a fan art picture I found.**

**:3**

**It switches P.O.V. here, and it's kinda confusing, so the first part is Norma, and then it switches to The Once-ler.**

**Try to see if you guys can guess what he was going to tell Norma at the end. **

**Tell me in your reviews!**

**Requested by Scooter12345.**

**~OS**

* * *

As soon as Norma finished explaining, the Lorax nodded understandingly.

"So you think he purposely blew you off."

"Yyes."

He sat and looked at her for a while. Then he said, "I don't believe that one bit. Something's wrong here. Why don't_ I_ try to wake him up?"

"Okay," said Norma.

"Oh, and if it helps, he was talking about a bright light this morning."

"What bright light?"

"That's just it! I don't know! All there was was sunlight, and it was barely there!"

"That's strange..." thought Norma out loud.

They went inside the tent.

"Hey! Beanpole! Wake up! Norma's here to see you!" yelled the Lorax.

All that happened was a slight twitch in his left eye.

The Lorax grumbled. He walked over to the bed and tried to pull the blanket off of The Once-ler.

Unfortunately, the blanket was wrapped around his body, so as Norma helped the Lorax pull it "off", they didn't notice the fact that The Once-ler was coming with it- until it was too late.

Crash!

Norma winced as he fell off the bed and onto the hard floor.

"Okay, there's no way he slept through _that_."

Norma glared at the Lorax.

"What? I'm just being truthful."

Norma sighed and kneeled down on the floor.

"Hello?"

* * *

_Norma looked up at him, her beautiful brown curls spilling down her shoulder. _

_"Come on Once! We're almost there!"_

_He groaned slightly, causing her to laugh._

_He loved that laugh, so light and airy, and yet completely sincere._

_"Where are we going?"_

_"It's a surprise! Now, close your eyes,"_

_"But I can't see! I'll trip and fall!" he protested._

_"I'll lead you. You _do _trust me, right?" _

_"Of course I do," he assured her. _

_"Then what's wrong?" she asked, making a slightly pouting expression. He doubted she was doing it on purpose, but how could he say no to that face?_

_"Nothing. Come on, let's go!" he said._

_She made him close his eyes all the way through what felt like the street, and then sand. They went on and on and on._

_"Norma, I thought you said we were almost there!" he said, right as she announced,_

_"We're here!" _

_"Can I open my eyes now?"_

_"Yes."_

_He opened them, and looked around. They were on a small stretch of sand, leading to tempting crystal blue waters. A picnic blanket was spread out on the ground, and a basket was sitting in one corner, what looked like marshmallows peeking out. Small waves lapped at the shore, and everything was quiet._

_Norma pulled him down on the blanket. _

_"Marshmallow?"_

_So he was right. He accepted, the soft texture filling his hand._

_Slowly, the sun started going down in front of them, the sky changing from blue to purple to brilliant reds and oranges. And yellow. Her favorite color._

_"It's so beautiful," she whispered, turning to him._

_He nodded, but inside he was thinking, ' _You're_ so beautiful', as the last golden rays sunk below the horizon._

_He suddenly felt a small spark of courage as he lay back on the blanket next to her. Then it died. He didn't want to ruin the beautiful friendship they already had._

_"Once?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Don't be mad at me, okay?"_

_"What? Why-"_

_She turned over and pressed her lips to his, and the scent of vanilla and marshmallows overtook him. At first, he was so surprised that he didn't respond. She was about to pull back when, realizing what was happening, he hugged her closer to him and kissed back._

_Eventually, they broke apart, and still his eyes were in a faraway daze as he stared up at the stars._

_"Once?"_

_"Hello?_

_"Once, wake up!"_

_What?_

"Anybody home?" came Norma's voice, from right next to him.

He jumped, or tried to when he found he was wrapped up in blankets from head to toe.

Turning his head to the left, he saw Norma kneeling next to him. Figuring it was just part of his dream, he turned his head to the left, only to be met with another familiar face, or should he say _faces_- he saw three different Loraxes.

Yelling, he tried to roll away, only to bump into Norma again. His face grew red as he realized that Norma herself was, indeed, right next to him, and that, yes, she was real. He grew even warmer as he recounted his dream not more than one minute ago.

"What are you guys doing here?"

His voice came out in a strangled croak. He sounded as though he was eighty-seven. Clearing his throat, he struggled to sit up and asked again, in the same raspy voice.

"What are you doing here?"

Then a thought occurred to him.

"And since when does Mustache have siblings?"

"Siblings?" asked Norma, with a funny expression on her face.

"Siblings, cousins, whatever those two other-"

He stopped as he looked to the left, and only saw the original Lorax, raising one eyebrow at him.

"What? Where'd they go?"

Norma spoke again.

"There was never anyone there, Once. I mean, besides the Lorax."

"Huh. I could have sworn there were... NORMA!"

It finally hit him that he had messed up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot and then I woke up today, and there was this light, and I couldn't really think that well, and I was pretty sure that..."

Norma laughed,

"That's fine. It was no problem at all!"

The Lorax gave her a look.

Norma then took on a serious expression.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? You've been seeing things all day!"

"What do you mean?" His throat was starting to hurt again.

"Well, first, that mysterious light, and then three Loraxes...what next?"

"Pipsqueak?"

"What?"

"No, I mean, 'Pipsqueak', as in, 'How did Pipsqueak get inside?'"

Norma looked around, and saw the little bar-ba-loot standing by the stove. Then she noticed the wind blowing through the open door.

"Well... we might have left the door open... Anyways, how _are _you feeling?"

"Terrible."

Norma hadn't expected that.

"How?"

"Well, I have a headache, my eyes and brain are hurting from the brightness, and my throat is on fire."

"Oh. Well, then, stop talking."

Norma went to the stove and turned the gas on. She got out a pot, and started making some broth. She had heard it was good for when people were sick.

"Wait, what?"

"Stop talking."

"Why?"

"Once, _shut up_."

"Fine." he said, and he lay back down on the floor.

Then he sat up again.

"Norma, I-"

"Shut. Up."

He lay down.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this turned out COMPLETELY different than I thought it would/wanted it to be. Again.**

**:D**

**Try to guess what Once was going to tell our dear Norma.**

**Shouldn't be that hard!**

**See ya guys later. **

**:3**

**~OS**


	8. Dream

**A/N: I am SO sorry for the wait, but I've been trying to write a request, and the words just aren't coming out. So I'm putting up a simple chapter that I've been working on on the side while I try to make that request behave.**

**:D**

**~OS**

* * *

"Ma! Ma!" called a young boy, around nine, with jet black hair and sky blue eyes.

"Ma! Do you want to see my new invention?"

"No." came a voice from a blond woman, sitting in a rocking chair in front of the television, with her eyes fixed on the screen.

"But ma, it's really cool! It can do _everything_!"

"There's no such thing." was the curt reply.

"I know! That's why I invented it! I call it- the Thneed."

The woman snorted. "What a ridiculous name!"

"It's not ridiculous ma, it's a combination of two words. Thing, and need. Because it's a thing that everyone needs!"

"Please."

"Ma, please look! It'll only take a second!"

"Oncie, your mother has better things to do than to look at some stupid crazy thing by some kid who can't even shut up for two seconds. Why can't you be more like your older brothers? _They _never pester me to see some idiotic thing that will never get past the piece of paper they drew it on."

The Once-ler stood there for a moment, dejected, then picked up the piece of paper and trudged upstairs. He'd try again later.

* * *

Two and a half years later, and The Once-ler had left his Thneed at the back of his mind. Right now he was working on a more important problem- his mother.

He rushed into the kitchen, his height throwing him off balance as he skidded into the kitchen and landed on the floor.

His mother didn't even acknowledge him as she "cooked" (heated up some frozen dinners).

"Mom! Do you want to hear a song I wrote you?"

"No."

His optimism being the downfall of him, he kept at it.

"Please? I mean, it's meant for guitar, but I don't have one of those, and so I thought I could sing it, you know-"

"Shut up Once-ler."

His face fell, and he left the kitchen. As he left, he heard his mother muttering:

"Why can't he be more like Brett and Chet? _They _never waste their time on such stupid things as _songs_. And even if he _had_ composed something great, which I doubt, he doesn't even have the right equipment. He said so himself!"

His whole demeanor changed at that moment. Ignoring the insults, he focused on one thing: He needed a guitar. Then his mom would listen to his songs! He whistled cheerfully all the way back to his room.

* * *

Three years later, and at fifteen and a half he still had not managed to raise enough money for a guitar. He knew which one he wanted, a beautiful black and white sparkling thing, electric, and as modern as things could possibly be.

He had tried nearly everything. But no one wanted to support the tall outcast who rarely spoke to anyone. There was only one thing left. His mother.

"Ma?"

"Yes, Oncie?"

Oh. Well at least she didn't insult him.

"What is it _this_ time? I actually thought you were doing something right for once. You were never around; I had some peace and quiet."

Never mind.

"Ma, I was just wondering..."

"_Yes_? Stop wasting my precious time and energy and just spit it out!"

"Well, you know how since..."

He stopped. He was about to say "Since I never get any birthday presents", but he had the feeling that wouldn't help him in this case.

"_Oncie_."

"Since...since... You know how I wanted...um... wanted to write my songs and stuff?" he asked.

"Well," he said before his mother could get a word in edgewise, "I was wondering... if you... ifyoucouldbuymeaguitar?"

"_What_?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I was wondering if you could get me a guitar."

"_Oncie_."

He cringed. Here it came.

She paused.

"Just how much is this guitar?"

He let out a small gasp of surprise. He never thought he'd get this far.

"It's only one hundred and twenty dollars! It's on sale, ma! It's one of those new, modern, ones. It's a really good price!"

But she had lost him at one hundred.

"_One hundred and twenty dollars_? Oncie, are you crazy?"

"Never mind," she added to herself.

He looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry Oncie," she said, in a voice that didn't fool him one bit, "But there is no way I'm getting you that guitar. You want it, you're going to have to do it yourself."

He walked outside, yet again, just another disappointment to add to his list.

He kicked at the ground as he walked into the small town he lived in. He stood outside the guitar shop yet again, nose pressed against the glass, staring at the only one material thing he had ever wanted.

The door's bell clanged, as an elderly lady came outside. He recognized her as the woman who ran the store.

"I've seen you out here many times, staring at that guitar up there. Would you like to buy it?"

He looked at the ground.

"I would, I mean, I'd _love_ to buy it, but..."

"You don't have enough money?" offered the lady kindly.

He nodded.

"Well, let's see what we can do about that. Why don't you come inside?"

Fifteen minutes later, he triumphantly walked out of the shop with a wide grin on his face, a sense of elation, and a job.

Maybe things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

A year and two months later and he'd left. He picked at the strings of his guitar. His! He'd achieved _that_ dream. And he'd done it alone. Now he was setting off to accomplish another. His Thneed. He wasn't about to give up on it, not when he had the perfect chance to make things right.

And maybe if he sold his "idiot Thneed", then maybe, just maybe his mother would finally appreciate him.


	9. Remind

**A/N: Okay, for those of you who have seen ****_Tangled_****, I officially support Rapunzeler now!**

**At first, I really didn't want to commit... (He's mine!) but A. Clueless. Conundrum's stories made me join the fandom. :D **

**I might write something for that... later.**

**:)**

**So, photo album time!**

**Requested by Spazzle.**

**(There _is _an OC in this chapter, but she's unnamed. I just thought it would be nice to add her into the photo album)**

**~OS**

* * *

Ever since the first day he left his Lerkim, The Once-ler had never felt better. Besides when he was young and strong, of course.

Still, with Ted, Mustache, and Audrey's help, he had managed to clear out most of the junk.

He _did _refuse to throw out his Thneed, however. No matter how much trouble it had caused, he still supported his invention. After all, it was his life's dream.

Soon, the only room left was the basement. He hadn't even known he _had _a basement.

Until Ted nearly fell into it.

The fall had released a lot of dust, and for an hour, the four hadn't even dared to go near it.

Soon enough, the room was visible to all. Ted offered to go down first, but The Once-ler didn't want him to get hurt again.

So he descended into the dank, musty basement.

All around him were memories. His old suits, his guitar, sheafs of papers stacking to the ceiling. All, while painful, normal things to be laying around in here.

Then he came upon an old book with a brown leather cover, a thick layer of dust resting upon it. It was sitting on an old table that looked as if it had been moved recently.

Of course, he didn't dwell on that. He blew the dust off the cover (amid violent hacks) and hesitantly streched his hand towards it. He caressed the feel of the cool leather on his skin. Opening the book, he looked at the first page for a name. But there was none.

Shrugging, he turned the page, and photographs met his eye. Looking closer, he realized they were _him_. Pictures from when he first left home with Melvin, pictures of Pipsqueak and Lou, pictures of the animals eating marshmallows, pictures of the thneed. The colors were so bright compared to the dark purple and black everything seemed to be lately.

A quarter of the book or so was like this, happy, playful, innocent memories from one of the only times he had ever been happy. Then he reached a new page. It had a different feel to it, as if the pages had been added later. And he saw something, some_one _that he had never expected to see again. He saw _her_.

Smiling, laughing into the camera as if it was someone dear to her. That was one thing he remembered about her, he mused. She was always happy. He had tried to press down these memories, but with every new page came new photographs, and with every new photograph, the weight of what he had left behind filled him more.

More pictures: Him and her together, the day he sold his Thneed. Both of them dancing with the animals. Her sitting next to the Lorax. The mood changed. Him in front of the new factory with his arm around her. Both of them at a party, her wearing what he could now see was a very forced smile.

And the last picture in the book:

A simple headshot of the two of them.

It was the last day he ever saw her. The last day he was truly happy.

He sank to the floor. He was probably safer on the ground anyways, because he didn't feel so well anymore.

He sat there for what seemed like eternity until:

"Beanpole! You alright down there?"

He shakily rose to his feet and walked up the stairs.

"Yeah. I'm fine. _Just fine_."

* * *

**A/N: Ms. Ississippi! Sorry it took so lon, but I was completely out of ideas, and then I went on vacation, and, well, the rest is history. :D**

**So how'd I do?**

**Hope you love it guys!**

**~OS**


	10. Save

**A/N: I feel very proud of myself. :D Four updates in two days! This is the _fifth_!**

**Spazzle: You're right, you ****_didn't _****request that! Ms. Ississippi did. I'll have to change that. Thanks!**

**Fanficaddiction: I didn't go into more detail because I wanted you, the reader, to be able to imagine anything you wanted for my OC. Heck, put yourself in her place if you want to. :) Since it's only a oneshot, I want just a mystery girl. I hate it when people put too much work into OCs when they only feature in a oneshot that is not connected to any main story.**

**Okay, here's the next chapter, requested by Code awesome!**

**(Ted is twelve in the movie, so I assumed he was in seventh grade at that time.)**

**Oh, and for the sake of the chapter, assume the Super-Axe-Hacker was either closer to the Lerkim, or there was another one nearby.**

**:)**

**CHAPTER 10!**

**~OS**

* * *

Ted walked downstairs, in an extremely happy mood. It was finally time for him to start eighth grade!

Finally, it was his turn to rule the school. He and his friends would have the best school year ever- until senior year of course. But that was so far away...

"Ted! Come down for breakfast!"

Ted sighed. No morning visit to Audrey then. _Well_, he decided, _today's only a half day. There'll be plenty of time to see Audrey later._

"Ted!"

He heard the screech of the school bus' tires.

"Gotta go, mom!"

He muttered a quick 'Goodbye Grammy!' and, grabbing a PopTart, ran out the door.

* * *

It had been a long day, and Ted was exhausted. Not only had he gone through a half-day of torture (admitted, it wasn't _that _bad, no homework on the first day), but he had also spent three hours with Audrey working on repainting her masterpiece.

Okay, so he wasn't the best painter, but Audrey was nice and never said anything.

Right now, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep.

But. (There's always a but.) But, he had promised The Once-ler that he would come visit him after the first day of school. He still lived outside of town; he wasn't ready to come back to Thneedville yet. And Ted respected that. At least until they changed the name, The Once-ler had every right to remain outside of town.

He was riding his scooter at a lower pace than normal, and he realized he'd have to hurry up with his visit if he wanted to be back home on time for dinner.

Quickening his pace, he watched behind him at the ever-disappearing lights of Thneedville as he plunged farther and farther out into the valley. The sky was darkening, and he was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice the machine coming up at him, the axes aimed straight at his head.

* * *

The Once-ler waited in his Lerkim, tapping his fingers impatiently. Ted said he would be here around sevenish, and he was _dying _for some company.

Though he was in no way related to Ted, The Once-ler felt a sort of responsibility for him. As much as it deflated his pride to say this- he cared.

But there was nothing worrying about the situation. Ted had been late _many _times before.

The Once-ler decided he might as well water the seedlings.

Armed with a watering can, he marched down the stairs.

* * *

Okay. This was making The Once-ler anxious. It was nearly eight, and Ted still hadn't arrived yet. He paced for a while, then decided to go up the path a bit. Not too far, just enough to see if anything had happened.

He set off on his walk.

Going as briskly as he could (which wasn't that fast- not anymore), he walked. As he walked on and on and _on_, his legs tired, head drooping from fatigue, he came upon one of his many Super-Axe-Hackers- back from the greedy days.

He cautiously stepped under the many hanging axes, making his way around and under them.

They poked out at him, their gleaming blades coming nervously close to him as if they were saying "How dare you put us to sleep. Start us up again and you're dead."

Finally, he made it through the maze of creepy-looking axes, only to meet an even more horrifying sight:

Ted lying facedown on the ground, a stream of suspiciously dark-looking liquid trickling from the back of his head.

The Once-ler felt sick. This was all his fault. If he hadn't asked Ted to come out here in the evening- especially in the darker months, he would have been fine. At home, probably playing some video game, but fine. Or even before that- if he hadn't built the Super-Axe-Hackers. Or even the Thneed. Any way you looked at it, it all came back to him.

He sighed, then shook himself awake. This was no time to be acting mopey. Ted very life could be in danger! There was no time to get anyone. Who knows how long he'd last? It was up to him.

He picked Ted up carefully, making sure not to hurt either Ted or himself. There was no one else around. He couldn't afford to mess this up.

Slowly but surely, The Once-ler got Ted back to his Lerkim. Laying him on the couch, he inspected the damage.

Luckily, Ted had had his helmet on, but loosely. The impact had knocked it sideways off his head, and opened up a small gash on the back of his head. He breathed a small sigh of relief. Nothing he couldn't fix. Still, he had to hurry. He didn't know the full extent of the damage yet.

Rummaging around in the cupboard downstairs, he found some cloth bandages, some antibiotic, and a needle and thread. Going into the kitchen, he collected a pitcher of water and some paper towels.

Heading upstairs, he panted with all the extra weight. His knees creaked with every step. He brought down a small first-aid kit he'd had for goodness knows how long. Perhaps some things would be salvegeable.

Making it down, he dumped all the stuff unceremoniously next to Ted.

Wetting a paper towel, he wiped off all the excess blood, then cleaned off the wound properly. Now that all the blood was gone, it didn't look half as bad.

Reaching for the needle, he then hesistated.

He doubted Ted's parents would want him putting stiches in his head without permission. Opting to bandage it instead, he tightly wrapped the cloth around the back, avoiding his neck and face.

Splashing Ted's face with water, he sat back and waited anxiously. That was all he could do. The rest was up to Ted.

Slowly, almost miraculously, Ted opened his eyes.

"Dad?" he said sleepily.

"No Ted. It's me. The Once-ler."

For a few seconds he worried that Ted had gotten amnesia.

But Ted's mind cleared.

"Oh... I thought... Never mind."

The Once-ler's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait a second. I don't remember coming here. When did I get here? And- Ow!"

Ted bumped the back of his head on the couch.

"Shh. Don't worry. You're going to be fine. You- er, well, you hit one of the axes, and fell off your bike-thing."

"Scooter." Ted said automatically.

"Scooter, then. I found you and brought you back here. I bandaged your head, and you'll make a full recovery, but you need to lay down for a while."

He stressed the last few words.

"Okay."

There was a few moments of silence as Ted lay down again.

Then he sat back up, so fast and unexpected that The Once-ler jumped.

"Wait... if I fell near the axe-thing..." he looked to The Once-ler for confirmation.

He nodded, not seeing where Ted was going.

"...then how did you know to find me?"

The Once-ler didn't reply,he just simply smiled.


	11. Beginning

**A/N: I realized the only poem I've done so far is in Chapter One, so here's another one! (By the way, I rearranged the chapters so this became Chapter 11. So you _might_ have already read the next one. Hint: Christine)**

**(From now on, every chapter ending in "1" {So every 10 chapters} will be a poem)**

**:D**

**~OS**

* * *

In the center of Thneedville

Where the first truffula grows

There is a spirit awaiting

For those who wish to know

The ancient city's past life

The place it used to be

As for what happened?

Well, _you _can just ask me

There was a man who lived here

Well, just outside of town

But what was special about him

Was the fact he brought them down

What's _them _you might ask

A fact you critically need

Well it was the trees that he felled

While trying to sell his Thneed

It was pink, it was soft, it was absolutely fluffy

And the material it was made of

Were those Truffula tuffies

Now, you may say

He didn't do anything wrong

But then his greed took over

They've even written a song

About how it changed him

That green stuff we call money

He drove the valley to destruction

All the while thinking it was funny

Many years later

After a business decline

The Once-ler still remains

Though he is very hard to find

You want the story?

The details? The How?

Then go outside of Thneedville

Hurry! Do go now!

He'll tell everything that happened

That chapter in his life

And then he'll tell you about the boy

Who put an end to all this strife

And once you've heard his story,

Please don't hesitate

To try to make a difference

For each action, though small, is great


	12. Encourage

**A/N: Okay, I've been very active on FF lately, but I figure you guys are enjoying the updates, so ****why not****?**

**:D**

**This little 'shot here is something I came up with. :)**

**OKAY YOU'VE PROBABLY ALREADY READ THIS BEFORE (CHRISTINE SHOULD RING A BELL IF YOU HAVE)**

**IF YOU HAVE, GO TO CHAPTER ELEVEN, I SWITCHED THIS WITH THE NEW CHAPTER!**

**YOU'LL SEE WHY WHEN YOU READ IT! **

**:D**

**~OS**

* * *

Pushing her way through the crowd, the red-haired girl worked her way to the front of the angry throng of people.

Well, not so much _angry_, just _rowdy_. They were all yelling and cheering and pointing at someone in the middle of the circle.

Finally reaching a clearing at the center of the circle, she was able to see the person on the raised stand. Some man was standing in the middle, trying to sing between the showers of rotten fruit. She saw something pink wrapped around his neck, and a sign stating "Everybody Needs A Thneed" propped up in front of him.

She frowned. What was a thneed?

Of course, she was only seeing this from the back, so she wasn't sure if she was reading it correctly.

Anyways, she decided, it didn't matter. She chose to stick around just a tad longer so she could see what he was actually doing. To avoid being trampled by the crowd, she skirted the edge until she came to an area where she was now in front of the man.

As she looked at his face, trying to discern any familiarity, she realized with a jolt that he was only a young man, perhaps only a few years older than her. He gave no signs of discomfort but for his shockingly blue eyes; they were searching for someone in the crowd, a relation or friend perhaps?

Though she was only fourteen, she was good at reading people, and this person was clearly looking for some encouragement.

Even though there was no chance he'd be looking for her, she would make it a point to smile next time he looked her way.

And smile she did. She put on, not some extravagant and fake creation, but a simple grin, one that said 'go on'.

Right at that moment, the performer locked eyes with her. Blue eyes stared into green, and she put every ounce of persuaviveness that she had into that one look. When they finally snapped away, she took a small step backwards, her heart racing. Then she turned and ran. She ran as fast as she could, all the way to her house in Greenville.

* * *

The Once-ler wonders why he never quit that first day he tried to sell his thneed. Why he hadn't just given up, threw down his thneed and just gone and lived the rest of his days in the Truffula forest. Or Greenville, for that matter. Because then all this wouldn't have happened.

He supposed it had something to do in part with his optimism.

And of course, like the beanpole he was so aptly nicknamed after, the fact that he always sprung back, no matter how many times he was trampled.

Oh, wait... there was that time...

He remembers now. He _had _wanted to quit- that very first day. That day he had run out of his own supply of confidence.

But then he borrowed another's.

A girl, with long red hair and jade eyes. That was all he remembered of her. He didn't even know her name. But she was familiar, especially in recent times. He wondered why.

He decided to ask Audrey...

* * *

**A/N: Just a couple things here:**

**1) I wanted this to be something where the girl and Audrey have mirrored experiences. But that obviously didn't happen. :D**

**2) Just in case you wanted to know, I DO have a name for _this _OC, mostly because I was considering putting her name in the oneshot. But then I decided on a rule: All my Oneshot OCs are anonymous. Her name is Christine.**

**3) The reason The Once-ler wants to ask Audrey and not Ted is because Audrey is slightly older, and she'd know more about Thneedville's history. Also, though he doesn't materially realize it, Audrey reminds him A LOT of that girl. Which leads me to number four:**

**4) I was hinting at that girl being Audrey's grandmother. No, Audrey's not related to The Once-ler or anything; in my mind that girl never had a relationship with him. She only met him once, and of course she heard about him when he became famous and she recognized his face. But I _would _like to imagine that Audrey's grandmother would have played some small part like that in Once's life. (Please feel free to assume Audrey's grandmother is dead in present-day)**

**So after this ridiculously long Author's Note, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**:D :3**

**~OS**


	13. Gleam

**A/N: My brain is dead right now. I've lost all sense of creativity. D:**

**So this is probably not going to be one of my best chapters... Hope my imagination returns from its vacation soon!**

**:D**

**(I decided we needed an Audrey chapter in here.)**

**~OS**

* * *

Audrey walked down the deserted streets of Thneedville.

Not that she wasn't expecting it; after all, it _was _five in the morning.

The reason she had woken up so early was because she had heard that on the third day of their second week, a Truffula sprout would gain its true tuft color.

All Truffula trees emerged from their seeds as a bright pink, the same color as the Thneed The Once-ler always wore. The change was always, _always,_ in the history of natural scientists,documented at around 5:30 am. Audrey didn't want to leave anything to chance, so she had set her alarm clock to four, giving her enough time to shower, change, eat breakfast, and still get to the sapling in time in case it made an early change.

She paused, walked back to the garage, and grabbed her bike. Her dad's fell to the floor as she did so. She winced. It was a good thing she had told her parents about her plan yesterday, because if she hadn't, this crash would have most certainly led to her being discovered.

Originally a dark pink, Audrey remembered when her 32-inch bike had had multiple white swirls and designs painted onto it by her. Now, ever since the public planting of the tree, she was working on repainting it, modeling it on what used to be on her backyard.

The front half of it was finished, but the back still had bits and pieces from the old design.

Biking through Thneedville at any other time would have been pleasant. It was nearing the end of summer, so the weather wasn't as hot. Normally, there would be people everywhere, milling about the streets chatting with each other and shopping. Everyone was kind, and no one had a bad word to say about Audrey.

Now, it was quiet. Not gloomy and dismal, like outside of town, but a peaceful quiet, as if someone had draped a blanket over the city.

Reaching the town square, she ran to where O'Hare's head used to be.

Kneeling down onto the plastic grass (they still hadn't removed it), she shrugged off her shoulder bag. Inside were a orange water bottle, a granola bar, an apple, and a camera.

She took the silver device out of the bag, and looped the thin cord around her neck. She kept it off, not wanting to disturb the darkness until she absolutely had to.

Suddenly, she heard a noise. It had sounded like footsteps. Whipping her head around, she squinted into the grayness, trying to make out the source of the noise through the red strands of her hair. She couldn't see anything.

She shrugged and turned back around, focusing on the plant. It was due to change any moment now.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder. She let out a scream and kicked backwards as hard as she could. There was a thud and then:

"OW!"

Audrey jumped. She knew _that _voice.

"_Ted_?"

"Yeah," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"Nah, I'm fine," he said, shrugging it off.

Audrey smiled.

"Oh. So... what are you doing here?"

"Well, what are _you _doing here?"

"I'm here to see the Truffula change color, remember? I thought it was, and I quote, 'All I've been talking about for a week!'?"

"About that...yeah," he said scratching his head. "I mean, that's why _I'm _here. I wanted to see it. With you."

He blushed.

"You know, because you really like trees and all that, and I wanted to see the expression on your face when you saw it, and- I mean, it'd be pretty cool to watch, you know?" he said, hurriedly backtracking.

She giggled.

They were silent for a while as they waited for the big moment.

Then-

"Hey, Ted? What's the time?"

He checked his watch.

"Um... 5:23."

Audrey let out a small gasp.

"Any time now..."

Focusing intently on the sprout, two pair of eyes were fixed on the little pink fluff, as if urging it to grow.

Ted brought out a flashlight so that they could see what was happening.

A couple of minutes passed, and no change had occured when the tree seemed to glow a little brighter, stand a little taller. Before their very eyes, the color began to change.

It creeped up slowly, bit by bit, but noticeably. The pink slowly darkened to almost a red, then the edge of one of the tufts slowly took on a beautiful sunset hue. It lightened until it carefully became a peachey-orange, to the very likeness of Audrey's hair. As she bent down over the sapling to take pictures, she was unaware of a set of brown eyes watching her graceful movements next to the tree. Almost as if she was one with the sprout. Where her hair fell over the little plant, Ted could barely tell the difference between the two.

Her pictures complete, Audrey's green eyes brightly shone with delight. They looked like emeralds in the dim glow of the flashlight, and her pale face was rosy. She slowly started to stand up, then changed her mind. She didn't want to leave the moment. Sitting cross-legged back down, she went off into a dreamy state, her mind feasting on the pure joy.

Everything was perfect.


	14. Sing

**A/N: NEXT CHAPTER!**

**MariaBlue4863- I'm sorry, but it was meant to be a oneshot. However, if you want, I ****_could _****do a sequel...**

**BurtonLover4ever- I'm still waiting for the deviantart link!**

**So! Again, another oneshot devised by moi. (No prompt given)**

**Okay, while looking at Fanficaddiction's review on Chapter 12 (Formerly Chapter 11), I reread it and realized she was right- it's not good at all. D:**

**Hopefully, this is better. **

**I DO NOT OWN THE LYRICS TO THIS SONG.**

**The Once-ler: *whispers in my ear***

**Me: What's that? You want to know who does? It's obvious, isn't it?**

**The Once-ler: *mumbles something***

**Me: You do. **

**~OS**

* * *

"Na. Na. Na na na na. Na na na na na na na na na na." The Once-ler sang as he and his faithful mule Melvin started on the first day of what would be a _very_ long, _very_ boring, and _very_ rewarding journey.

"Op-bop-bop-da-bop-doh, Going off to make a thneed!"

He was, if you couldn't guess already, going to make his thneed. He just needed the right material...

It had to be waterproof and strong, but still amazingly soft at the same time. It had to be thin enough to knit tightly with, but plush enough to still conserve heat. It had to be bendable, but still had to be able to keep its shape. A bright color would make it a lot more popular, and natural fibers were always easier to get _and_ work with.

"The daring duo searched high and low, near and far, through thick and thin. They plunged through the coldest winters, the hottest deserts, the most dangerous jungles! Perservering through all danger, iminent or not, they had only one objective: To find the perfect material to make the dashing inventor's amazing product- the_ thneed_.

"Hey, Melvin, whaddaya think? Maybe after we sell my thneed I could write a book!"

Melvin turned around and gave his owner a look. One that plainly said '_In your dreams_'

He shut up.

-{A Few Hours Later...}-

The Once-ler had been sitting on this wagon for almost twenty four hours now, and he didn't like it one bit.

"I've got a cramp in my back, and another in my right rump cheek... I just wish this trip would be over alreadyyyy,"

He decided that if he ever _did _find this magical substance, the first thing he'd do would be to take a nap in it, when he had enough.

"Okay, that's it Melvin, you're in charge. I'm going to sleep."

He streched his legs over the back of the wagon and pushed himself into the main compartment.

"Wake me up when we get there!"

Melvin just flicked an ear in response.

-{A couple of days later}-

A bright light shone in The Once-ler's eyes. He groaned and blearily shook himself awake. When he could see clearly, he screamed. This wasn't his att- room...

Oh. Right.

He stopped the high-pitched noise.

He looked up at the sky. It looked extremely similar as it had earlier today... surely he hadn't woken up _that _fast. He poked his head out of the wagon and looked around. His mouth fell open in an O. This wasn't where they were earlier today- not at all! He climbed back into the driver's seat and leaned out to see behind them. The dead grasses and yellowed old dirt trails were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the ground was, though barren, a rich brown, showing that the soil was fertile. Small blades of grass poked up through the ground, and speckled everywhere- was that _sand_?

"Melvin." he said in a slightly annoyed tone. "I thought I said to wake me up-"

Melvin shook his head. The boy had obviously told him to wake him up _when they got there_. "There" meaning their destination. This was not it. Melvin could tell. Still, the lanky man insisted on lecturing him, only to get off the wagon to scout for any materials for his thing that he wanted to make. What did he call it? Theneed?

Right now the only thing Melvin wanted was some grass. And maybe some nice fruit thrown in...

He leaned down over the side of the path just to pick a nice juicy blade- and of course he had to come back right then, with a sour expression on his face, no less.

He could have told him.

-{And now the guitar comes back into play}-

"You and I will have separate grandchildren and we will say to them- Melvin look I'm playing my guitar upside down!"

When Melvin turned around it was to see exactly what The Once-ler had described:

The tall boy was laying so that his feet and legs stuck straight up in the air, while his head was down, almost only two feet away from the ground. His black bangs, which normally flopped down slightly to the left of his left eye now hung straight down, inches from the path. His blue eyes had that sparkle in them which usually meant he was about to do something Melvin would disapprove of.

The Once-ler searched Melvin's face for expression.

The look again.

"Don't look at me like that, its something to do."

Another snort. Was that all Melvin did?

"Ahem, oh wait I forgot the words... Na. Na. Na. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

There was silence for a good few minutes, during which The Once-ler reached back into his wagon for a couple of marshmallows.

With a handful stuffed in his mouth, he began to recite:

"Chubby Bunny. Chubbie Bunnae. Chubbe Bunni. CHUBBY BUNNEE!" Each time, his volume increased, and he leaned forward to the point he almost fell out.

He slumped back into his wicker-chair-driver's-seat.

"It's no use. It's official. I'm out of things to do."

Melvin heaved a sigh of relief.

"I heard that."

The Once-ler retracted into contemplation about what to do next. They travelled in silence, not stopping for a single moment as they crossed the plain, which had by now turned into a sandy desert.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"You ever think REALLLLLLY hard about boredom?"

Melvin pretended not to hear.

Irritated, The Once-ler pulled out his black and white guitar. (At this point, only the strings were poking out)

He played a couple of quick notes, and then blasted out a couple of chords. Deciding that he'd better do something to get Melvin to hurry up, (and to give him some amusement), he ran his fingers along the fingerboard before strumming a quick succession of random placements.

*Strum*

"Is that annoying?"

*Strum*

"Is that annoying...?"

*Strum*

"Is this annoying?"

-{After a while}-

Melvin's patience had finally run out. He pulled up short, with the resolve that he wouldn't budge another millimeter until the man stopped playing.

And he didn't. They didn't get the expression "obstinate as a mule" from nothing!

The Once-ler did everything. He asked. He lectured. He pleaded. He yelled. He lost his voice for a while. He made angry hand gestures. He got down on his knees. He even tried to bribe him with marshmallows.

All to no avail. Melvin was _not _moving until that darn guitar was put away.

Sighing, The Once-ler tossed it into the wagon and got back on the seat, his hat falling over his eyes again in the process. Pushing it back off his head, he resignedly laid back into the seat, grumbling all the while.

Clearing his throat, he reflected that at least he had his voice back now.

"Look I see some circling birds, I bet you that they're going to eat our corpses.

"And then the worms will crawl out of the ground. And then some other little critter is going to make furniture out of our bones...and sit on it...and have lovely dinners... ANNND THIS WHOLE THING WILL BE A DISASTER NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA...HAAAAANANANANANANANANANAAAAA ."

-{Fin}-


	15. Restore

**A/N: Okay!**

**I know I haven't updated in a while, and I'm sorry, but I hope this makes up for that!**

**I was completely stuck on ideas, and then I looked through my reviews and I realized I had a couple of prompts!**

**By the way, I just found out a couple of days ago that _How Bad Can I Be? _took place over the span of five years. That should probably explain part of it.**

**This chapter was requested by justsomeguyyouknow. :)**

**~OS**

* * *

He slowly stood up as the full realization of what he had done struck him.

What he'd destroyed.

What he'd ruined.

And what he'd become.

His blue eyes took in the destruction for the first time in five years, now seeing the land for what it actually was.

Not just a thing to make a profit of off, but a living, breathing place that had shaped many lives.

At least, it _used _to be living and breathing.

His family abandoned him the second they found out, the only thing they had to give was disappointment.

He turned, still drowning in a mix of emotions.

Looking up, he saw what he had feared: all the animals, gathered around The Lorax, together as one.

His voice came out in a scratchy tone.

"Look, I don't want any trouble..."

He trailed off, realizing that whatever they did to him; it would all be his fault.

"And you won't get any. Not from them. Thanks to your hacking and smogging and glumping, they can't live here anymore. So I'm sending them off. Hopefully they'll find a better place to live."

This came from The Lorax, surprising him. They weren't going to do anything?

Then he saw them marching, walking for miles for the small chance that they'd survive and find a place to settle down. He could already tell that at least half of them wouldn't make it.

He saw Pipsqueak among the crowd, trudging along with the other bar-ba-loots. Pipsqueak. He felt even worse now. He'd completely ruined the little animal's life, and after he had put so much trust into him too. He felt like he had to give one last gift, something small, to aid Pip in his travels. He frantically searched the pockets of his expensive custom-tailored suit.

What a waste.

He eventually came up with a marshmallow, the only things he had ever ventured to keep from his old life.

Pip liked those.

He held them out to the little bar-ba-loot.

"Pip? Here."

But all he got was a backwards glance, a very very sad backwards glance. And then Pipsqueak continued to march.

He sighed, ready to turn away when he noticed something different.

"_Melvin?_"

The hurt in his voice was undeniable.

He had been with Melvin for as long as he could remember. They had gone through the toughest times together. And now...

He was gone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw The Lorax, poised on the tips of his feet as if about to take flight.

Meeting his eye, the little orange furball hesitated. For one fleeting moment, it seemed like he had something to say.

Then the moment passed, and, with his very own eyes, he watched as The Lorax grabbed the seat of his pants and started rising up, past where the Truffula trees used to stand, past the point where the clean white clouds used to cover stand out against the beautiful blue sky.

He went up, up into the dazzling column of light that hadn't been there a second ago, and then, just like that, he disappeared.

The Once-ler sank to his knees. His whole life had changed in a minute. One second he was on top of the world.

Now, he was bearing the brunt of it.

He almost didn't notice the tiny figure in front of his face, padding towards him as fast as its little legs would take it.

It was Pipsqueak.

He had come back.

"No. Pipsqueak... go. Go find somewhere to live. You need to find somewhere better for you."

As much as it hurt him to say it, he didn't want to make the bar-ba-loot's life any worse than he already had.

But he refused to leave.

He stayed there, hanging onto the green-clad man's knee.

"Pipsqueak..."

He tried to come up with a valid argument. Instead, he caved. He let it all out.

"Pip, I don't know what to do. I've ruined _everything_. Everyone's left me. My stupid thneed was a failure in the end anyways, my family deserted me, and I've let my ma down. Melvin's gone, all the trees are gone, and the world isn't beautiful anymore. I've held out this far only on optimism anyways, in hopes that maybe my mother would finally be proud of me when I was a success. I cut down every last tree just to keep myself rich for one more hour, and I didn't care about anyone or anything. I didn't even reseed the grounds, and these days the soil is about as nutrient rich as a sack of coal. Now, everything's dead or dying, and my half-full look at the world is slowly running out. Sure, I've realized what I did, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I can't change the past, and it's not like anyone cares about me, or you guys, or the environment. I used to think being rich would be the best feeling in the world, but I realize now that I never really enjoyed it, even when I was too blind to see the destruction outside. I changed from someone I loved being into a horrid monster that I can barely bring myself to look at anymore."

Tears streamed down his face as he completed what he was saying.

He didn't know if Pipsqueak understood; he didn't care. All he knew was that he had someone to tell everything to.

He brought himself to meet the bar-ba-loot's eyes, to see what disappointment was there, bracing himself for the worst.

Instead, he saw, a great sadness, yes, but further than that, he thought he felt a kind of forgiveness. And he sweeped the bar-ba-loot into his arms for his last hug for decades to come.

With a surge of relief, he vowed to find a way to bring back to valley. If not to right his past wrongs, for Pipsqueak.

After a while, he noticed something on the edge of his peripheral vision.

He stood up and walked over to a pile of stones.

He frowned. It hadn't been there not three minutes ago.

But then he saw it.

A small, brown, but perfect Truffula seed, perched on top of the "Unless" engraved into the biggest rock.

Leaning down, he gingerly took it into the palm of his gloved hand, as if it might cease to exist any second.

He pulled off his right glove, to be able to run his fingers over the smooth surface, to prove to himself that it was real.

He looked towards the clouds above him, willing for who or whatever was up there to see him, to hear him.

_Thank you._


	16. Teach

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in so long! I had some other websites I had to take care of first. :)**

**Okay, this will probably pale in comparison to the last chapter, but, here we go!**

**:D**

**~OS**

* * *

A feeling of peace blanketed the valley, as had not been for a hundred years.

All was well.

The Lorax walked around the valley, tending to the young truffula sprouts, and weaving in and out of the trees that were already full grown.

It had been twenty-five years since his dear friend's death.

And yes, he _had _ considered him his friend, no matter what he had said to his family. After all, he had a reputation to keep.

He strolled over to the stream, which, in the last thirty-three years, had grown considerably cleaner. True, there were traces of smog and schlop, that couldn't be helped, but it was healthy enough for the fish to live in. He feels a twinge of pain as he remembers what had happened that one night on the riverside...

He allows himself a chuckle, but only one, and very brief at that.

All the animals had come back, eventually. One of The Lorax biggest regrets was that the bar-ba-loots hadn't come in time for The Once-ler to see them one last time. He figured he would have liked to see them.

Pipsqueak was a father, a grandfather, actually.

The little ones were actually a little... what was the word? _Cute_. Not that he would say _that _in public either.

What happened to the boy? The one that saved the trees?

Well, he and his pretty little friend got married. They have two children now, and the boy looks just like his father. From what I've heard, he's as reckless as well.

Their daughter is only three years old, but she's certainly taking after her mother. She has more artistic talent than perhaps Beanpole himself!

The Lorax scans the horizon for a hint of their arrival, remembering they were due to come today.

At last, his eyes catch a hint of movement, and he sees the forty-five year old, his redheaded wife, and two bubbly and bouncy kids walking in his direction.

To classify walking in the loosest definition that is:

The girl was pulling on the leg of her father pants, trying to get him to move faster while the boy is half asleep, and being carried by his mother. All four have a smile on their faces though, so perhaps he is having a happy dream, with his tiny little thumb in his rather large mouth. They've reached him now. Audrey sets down her son, Robby, and Ted hauls Sophie into his lap as they all sit down and unpack the basket that he hadn't noticed before.

He walks over to them.

His voice is rather graty and rusty, as if he hasn't used it in a while, which is a surprise, because just this morning he had caught himself singing one of those songs Beanpole always used to play.

"Now, don't go choppin' down any of my trees, see,"

The couple smile, and Ted beckons The Lorax over.

"What's for breakfast? I'm starved!"

The familiar line tugs at the corner of his lips, and yet dampens his spirit ever so slightly at the same time.

Audrey gently shakes her son awake as Sophie and Ted unpack the food.

There is a wide assortment, from cakes, pies, and tarts to various sandwiches to juice boxes and bottled water. The last thing they bring out, carried by the little girl with the curly brown hair, is a bag of giant marshmallows, just like the kind he had become used to seeing everywhere.

He looks down at the ground.

Ted gently takes the package away from Sophie and place it back in the basket, closing the lid.

They eat the rest of the meal in silence.

"Well, Mr. Lorax, now for the rest of your promise; Audrey and I are heading back to Thneedville, we'll be back at..."

He trails off, forgetting what they had agreed on.

Audrey cuts in, with a smile.

"Four. We'll be back by four."

They head off into the distance, waving goodbye as they leave the children with The Lorax for a few hours.

The Lorax has had absolutely no experience with baby humans. The youngest he'd ever interacted with would be Ted, back at the planting of the "first" tree.

He figured they couldn't be _too_ different from bar-ba-loots.

A noise made him turn around, Sophie had crashed into a tree. He rushed over to see if she was all right.

She seemed fine, and was clutching something in her hand.

She held it out towards him.

Inside her tiny palm was a seed.

A single truffula seed.

He gently took her hand in his, and brought her brother over to do the same. As all three of them held the seed, he dug a small hole in the ground with his foot.

Carefully, he reached all three of their hands down to drop the seed in the hole. Kneeling down, he worked with Sophie to cover it up, and he sprinkled a little water on it from the nearby stream.

He knew what he was going to do with them now.

He was going to _let them grow_.

* * *

**A/N: So I haven't really seen much speculation on Ted's kids, so this is my little version of that. I wasn't originally making the boy Robby, but it's a kind of tribute to Dr. Seuss. I have many little tributes like this hidden all around my stories. You can look for them if you'd like. **

**:)**

**~OS**


End file.
